My Top 2 Player Board Games

It Takes Two

Ever since the predecessor to the game of checkers was invented some 5000 years ago, pairs of humans have bonded over board games. Judging from what I find, that bonding continues today. The most popular board games in my collection are set up for two players.

While it is always fun to get the whole gang together, sometimes a quiet evening with just the two of you is just right. Most two player games are easy enough to play on the spur of the moment. If your fellow player is your beer drinking trash talking buddy, choose something where the two of you compete. If itʼs a person whom you are trying to woo as a potential romantic interest, perhaps a game involving cooperation might do the trick. Both are available in my list of games for duos.

Playing board games promotes conversation and good times. Donʼt spend another night staring at the television, surfing the web, or engaging in mindless texting. Board games can be fun, enlightening, or both.

Peruse the list below and learn about my favorite two player games. Our summaries and descriptions give you the knowledge you need before deciding what to try next. Enjoy!

Lost Cities

Price: $24.99

Highlights

For 2 players

Great strategy game

Tons of replay value

Description

For the daring and adventurous, there are many lost cities to explore in the Lost Cities Card Game from Rio Grande Games. Send expeditions to the Himalayas, the ever-shifting sands of the desert, the Brazilian rain forest, ancient volcanoes and even deep into Neptunes realm. With limited resources, players must choose which expeditions to begin. Those with high confidence may want to up the stakes: increasing the rewards for success, but risking more should the expedition fail. The player who finds the right balance will find victory! Lose yourself in the excitement of this engaging strategy game!

Seasons

Highlights

Features: Superior artwork, Tons of different strategies of game play, 3 different difficulty levels in one game

Manage your energy between seasons and adapt your game play

Mix cards to create unique combinations to give you more chances to win

For 2 to 4 players

60 minutes of playtime

Description

Assuming the role of one of the greatest sorcerers of the time, you will be participating in the legendary tournament of the 12 Seasons. Your goal is to raise the most victory points by gathering energy, summoning familiars and magic items. If you amass enough crystals and symbols of prestige, you will become the kingdom's most illustrious mage. Optimize the cards through skilful combinations, using the seasons wisely to access the energies of crystals and become the the new Archmage of the kingdom of Xidit.

In a first phase, select 9 power cards at the same time as your opponents. Do the right choices, because they will determine the rest of the game. Acclimatize to the season to make the most of the actions proposed by each roll of the dice. Collect energies, invoke magical and familiar objects, and collect enough crystals, symbols of prestige. The time is now magician.

Price: $49.99$38.40 (23% off)

Features: Superior artwork, Tons of different strategies of game play, 3 different difficulty levels in one game

Manage your energy between seasons and adapt your game play

Mix cards to create unique combinations to give you more chances to win

Lords of Waterdeep

Highlights

An exciting Euro-style board game set in Waterdeep, the greatest city and jewel of the Forgotten Realms

This immersive game casts players as Lords of Waterdeep who hire adventurers to complete quests

Game play: 1 hour

Perfect for 2 to 5 players

Description

Waterdeep, the City of Splendors--the most resplendent jewel in the Forgotten Realms, and a den of political intrigue and shady back-alley dealings. In this game, the players are powerful lords vying for control of this great city. Its treasures and resources are ripe for the taking, and that which cannot be gained through trickery and negotiation must be taken by force!

In Lords of Waterdeep you take on the role of one of the masked Lords of Waterdeep, secret rulers of the city. Through your agents, you recruit adventurers to go on quests on your behalf, earning rewards and increasing your influence over the city. Expand the city by purchasing new buildings that open up new actions on the board, and hinder â€“ or help â€“ the other lords by playing Intrigue cards to enact your carefully laid plans.

During the course of play, you may gain points or resources through completing quests, constructing buildings, playing intrigue cards or having other players utilize the buildings you have constructed. At the end of 8 rounds of play, the player who has accrued the most points wins the game.

Price: $49.99$38.23 (24% off)

An exciting Euro-style board game set in Waterdeep, the greatest city and jewel of the Forgotten Realms

This immersive game casts players as Lords of Waterdeep who hire adventurers to complete quests

Flash Point: Fire Rescue

Highlights

2 to 6 players

30 minutes playtime

No two games are ever the same - and with two rule sets and 3 different difficulty levels there is a challenge to be had for all

Description

The call comes in... 911 what is your emergency? On the other end is a panicked response of FIRE! Moments later you don the protective suits that will keep you alive gather your equipment and rush to the scene of a blazing inferno. The team has only seconds to assess the situation and devise a plan of attack - then you spring into action like the trained professionals that you are. You must face your fears never give up and above all else work as a team because the fire is raging the building is threatening to collapse and lives are in danger. You must succeed. You are the brave men and women of fire rescue people are depending on you. This is what you do every day.

Flash Point: Fire Rescue is a fully cooperative game, everyone plays on the same firefighting team - win or lose together! Every turn is filled with the tension of having to fight the fire back, rescuing victims or investigating points of interest. Players can ride the ambulance to safety or fire the engine's deck gun in a desperate attempt to control the blaze. No two games are ever the same - and with two rulesets (family, & experienced) and 3 different difficulty levels there is a challenge to be had for all.

Price: $39.99$31.10 (22% off)

2 to 6 players

30 minutes playtime

No two games are ever the same - and with two rule sets and 3 different difficulty levels there is a challenge to be had for all

Small World

Price: Unavailable

Highlights

High quality European components

For 2-5 players

Takes 45-60 minutes to play

Vie for conquest and control

Description

Small World is a zany, light-hearted civilization game in which 2-5 players vie for conquest and control of a board that is simply too small to accommodate them all. Picking the right combination of fantasy races and unique special powers, players must rush to expand their empires - often at the expense of weaker neighbors. Yet they must also know when to push their own over-extended civilization into decline and ride a new one to victory.

Designed by Philippe Keyaerts, Small World is inhabited by a cast of characters such as dwarves, wizards, amazons, giants, orcs and even humans; who use their troops to occupy territory and conquer adjacent lands in order to push the other races off the face of the earth. Small World marks the return of the Days of Wonder line of heavily-themed, big-box sized games featuring evocative illustrations, high-quality European components and a compelling, fun theme.

Straightforward quick-play rules will have you battling in mere minutes

Description

X-Wing is a fast-paced game of tactical space combat in the Star Wars universe. Players control starfighters from either the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire, outfit them with a variety of pilots, special weapons and upgrades, and attempt to outmaneuver their opponents.This box contains everything two players need to get started playing X-Wing, including painted plastic ships, custom dice, cards, tokens, and quick-start rules. Advanced rules and special missions are also included to let players take their game to the next level.

Price: $39.99

A game of tactical space combat in the Star Wars universe for two players

Take control of the most advanced starfighters in the galaxy

Contains three detailed, painted miniatures: one X-wing and two TIE fighters

Android: Netrunner

Highlights

Exciting asymmetrical game play pits a corporation player against a runner

Four corporations and three runner classes spark imaginative deck designs

The Living Card GameTM format promotes regular, organic growth

Description

Richard Garfield's classic cyberpunk card game returns cleaner, sharper, more flavorful, and better than ever with the release of Android Netrunner: The Card Game! This two-player Living Card Game of megacorps, runners, and cybercrime pits monolithic megacorps against subversive netrunners in a high-stakes struggle for valuable data. Humanity has spread its wings and taken trade to the far reaches of the solar system, having colonized the Moon and Mars. Visionary corporations created braintaping techniques that have led to the development of lifelike artificial intelligence. But as these massive corporations guard their intellectual property on the network behind layers of ice, netrunners seek to expose their secrets, for ideological reasons or for profit.

Price: $39.95

New life for the classic card game by Richard Garfield

High-stakes futuristic gambles and intrigues in a cyberpunk setting

Exciting asymmetrical game play pits a corporation player against a runner

Four corporations and three runner classes spark imaginative deck designs

Description

Hive is a board game with a difference. There is no board. The pieces are added to the playing area thus creating the board. As more and more pieces are added the game becomes a fight to see who can be the first to capture the opposing Queen Bee.

Hanabi

Price: $10.95$8.03 (27% off)

Highlights

For 2-5 players

2013 Spiele des Jahres game of the year

Takes about 20-30 minutes to play

60 Hanabi cards, 8 blue clock tokens, 4 black fuse tokens

Description

An intriguing and innovative card game. Race against the clock to build a dazzling fireworks finale! Trouble is, you can see the cards that everyone holds ... except your own. Working together, you must give and receive vital information in order to play your cards in the proper launch sequence. Build and light each firework correctly to win the game and avoid a fizzling fiasco!